Graduate Student Seminar - 11/22/2013

An important feature in collisionless magnetic reconnection is the development of sharp discontinuities along the separatrices bounding the Alfvenic outflow. The typical scale length of these features is ρs (the Larmor radius based on the sound speed) for guide field reconnection. Temperature gradients in the inflowing plasma can lead to instabilities at these separatrices, specifically drift wave turbulence. We present 2D PIC simulations of drift wave turbulence to investigate scaling properties and growth rates.

For additional information about the IREAP Graduate Student Seminars, contact David Meichle at dmeichle at umd.edu.